


Hot Dog

by flippyspoon



Series: Pour Some Sugar on Me [35]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-12 07:03:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16868335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flippyspoon/pseuds/flippyspoon





	Hot Dog

He would never live this down.

In his entire life, he would never live this down.

He’d have to leave Hawkins forever. Hell, he was tempted to leave the Earth.

“HEY, WEINER!” That was some kid from Hawkins High. Some kid who knew that Billy couldn’t touch him because a. he was working and b. he was an adult now.

His cheeks burned as he spun the sign around, pointing mall patrons towards Pete’s Hot Dogs in the food court…in the food court where Steve was working. Steve, who had seen him walking the walk of hot dog suit shame.

The hot dog costume also ran hot. And it was stuffy. And the tops of his thighs itched where the leg holes touched his skin.

That was the other thing, his bare legs springing from the leg holes of the hot dog costume made it all the more humiliating. Or maybe the most humiliating part was his uhappy face poking through the big face hole in the frankfurter, squiggly lines of ketchup and mustard above and below him. He was cushioned by a giant bun that made peripheral vision impossible.

He had to wear the freaking thing twice a week for hours. He had worked at Pete’s for weeks under the innocent illusion that he would not ever have to wear hot dog suit in his life.

Than Ian, the regular hot dog suit guy, had quit.

Fucking Ian.

Every week, twice a week, he had to wear the suit.

All summer.

“OH, I WISH I WAS AN OSCAR MEYER WEEEINER!” That was some freshman. Goddamn punk.

Billy spun his stupid sign and checked his watch about five times every minute and wanted to die as passersby giggled in his direction.

His break was coming up. He’d taken to spending his breaks smoking with Steve behind the mall. Somehow Steve Harrington had become something like a best friend since they’d graduated and taken shitty jobs, having no idea what they were supposed to be doing. Or at least, Billy was trying to save up some cash and Steve’s dad had burned him on some cushy office job or something. Steve hadn’t quite told him the whole story yet. He’d mumbled something like that a couple of times though, his expression miserable.

Anyhow, he and Steve Harrington seemed to have a lot in common lately. Except for the part where Billy badly wanted to shove his hands up the back of those ridiculous blue shorts and take that goofy red tie off of Steve with his teeth. He was pretty sure he was alone on that one.

At 2:56 Billy decided it was 3:00 and stomped off to take his break. If he took the costume off he’d just have to get it on again and that was a pain in the ass. Instead he found a hiding place around a corner of the mall from where he usually smoked with Steve. The last thing he wanted was to hang out with Steve in this sorry state.

He was two minutes into his cigarette when Steve found him.

“Hey!” Steve looked all annoyed, his full lips turned into a frown, his dopey sailor hat askew. “What’re you doing over here? I was looking for you.”

Billy was so mortified he thought he might actually pass out and die; just a pathetic eighteen-year-old idiot in a hot dog costume dead in the parking lot behind Starcourt Mall. He turned from Steve, glowering.

“Nothing,” Billy mumbled.

“What’s the matter?” Steve walked all the way around Billy trying to get Billy to look at him.

“Nothing!”

Steve nudged the bun and Billy dimly felt the thump of it. “What a pain in the ass, huh? My condolences.”

Billy blurted out, “IT’S FREAKING HUMILIATING, HARRINGTON!”

He saw Steve smile and felt even more embarrassed which he had not thought possible.

Steve said, “I dunno though, I think it’s kinda-”

He stopped short and coughed, staring down at his shoes. He did not go on.

“You think it’s kinda what?” Billy said darkly.

“Nothing,” Steve mumbled.

“WHAT, HARRINGTON! YOU THINK IT’S KINDA WHAT EXACTLY!”

“It’s kinda cute!” Steve said, and then drew himself up like he expected Billy to take a swing or something, which would have been difficult but probably hilarious in the get-up Billy was wearing. Billy stared blankly at Steve who went on, flailing a little. “I mean- no, I mean, like if I was girl, I guess is what I mean. Ya know, I might think it was cute. Like kinda adorable. If I was a girl, ya know… Not like, I’m not saying I…ya know…think you’re cute.” He laughed then, a horribly fake laugh that gave itself away. “I…I don’t think you’re cute.”

Steve rubbed his face and shut his eyes.

Billy thought Steve was being very cute.

“Well…” Billy said, his heart thumping behind thick layers of foam. “If you did think I looked cute like this? I’d probably think you were crazy. But…you…don’t gotta be a girl. You know?”

Steve tilted his head and looked up at him, blinking. “Huh?”

“Are you crazy, Harrington?” Billy said. He wanted it to sound smooth but instead he sounded nervous.

“I might be,” Steve said, biting his lip. He took a step toward Billy who dropped his smoke on the ground.

“Well…” Billy stared at his mouth. “I like crazy.”

Steve rested his hands along Billy’s giant foam buns and drew him closer, or as close as Billy could get dressed as a gigantic hot dog. “Well, I like a cute, crazy man in a hot dog suit. So I must be bananas,” he said, and kissed him and Billy’s heart swelled. It was a good for a second there, Steve sucking on Billy’s bottom lip just a little but the logistics were difficult with the suit and they stumbled, and Steve giggled against Billy’s mouth.

Billy thought:  _I’ll take that forever._

“Pretty good,” Steve said softly. “But next time I want some relish.”

“Fuck you, Harrington.”


End file.
